Dialects and regional
variants reflect the adaptations and growth of societies in respect to the
environment they find themselves in.

In the case of Italian, two
phenomena have occurred; we note the birth of Italian-Australian, a unique
branding of regional dialects mixed with Australian-English, and then there’s
the proliferation of standardised Italian in the English language, used
meaningfully as culturally accepted terms. Though the former is easily
attributed to the Italian migration history in Australia, the latter isn’t as
straightforward to contextualise.

The inter-war period of the
early 20th century gave light to pro-British ideals and a somewhat
patriotic view of the importance of “British English” in Australia. Culturally,
there was little room to appreciate the Italian language – Australia was at war
with Italy, after all. Despite this, Italian language education in Australia
prevailed (fuelled by the presence of those Italian migrants), and the language
in general has since solidified its presence in our Australian vernacular.

My question is this: are we
consciously aware of the presence of Italian in today’s spoken English?
Moreover, after having read this, will you too be more mindful of the presence
of Italian words in your own spoken repertoire?

“I’ll have a cappuccino, please.”

“Have you seen the new al fresco area?”

“She’s such a diva!”

“No, I’ll get this done solo, I think.”

“Begin reading from the
second stanza…”

“I can’t believe it’s the
series finale!”

“A pizza margherita, thanks.”

“Check out my new stiletto heels.”

Traces of the Italian
language are scattered about the English and non-English speaking worlds. Even
without fluency in the language, one knows the meaning of key Italian words we
love and use in our day-to-day lives. Now, I am no professor of linguistics,
but years of being an Italian language teacher have taught me a few things. A
metalinguistic appreciation of these Italian gems reveals particular trends.
Italian terms dominate the fields of cuisine, the arts, music, architecture,
literature and geography, being some of the most beautiful subsets of culture.

Ample literature exists that
seeks to unpack the reasons behind this kind of language “borrowing”. It speaks
of language roots and language families, much like a family tree. Italian
language roots stem back to grandmother and grandfather Latin, with cousins and
aunties and uncles in French, Spanish, Catalan, Romanian and Portuguese.

Though the Italian language
has evolved significantly over the centuries, the Italian spoken today - l’italiano standard - derives from the
regional Tuscan dialect spoken in Florence in the 13th century.
Naturally, it has been polished and perfected over the years, with the
Renaissance, again centered in Florence, giving birth to renewed love and
appreciation of the arts, knowledge and sciences. The transference and movement
of knowledge and people through this time period has surely solidified Italian
terminology in those fields, unchanged after some 700 years.

The use of Italian words in
English is a beautiful thing. Using such highly specific words, imbued with
cultural and historical significance is a joy to be treasured. It shows not
only the journey made by the Italian language, but also the relevance and
significance it holds in today’s society. The sound and rhythm of these words
and phrases may indeed alter on our English tongues (‘bruschetta’ is a point of tension for me, and we won’t even
start on espresso!), but their
importance remains untainted.

People often ask me: “Why
should we still be speaking Italian in Australia today?”

I respond with: “You already
know more Italian than you think. Italian is a global language, as Italy is a
hub for culture and knowledge; it always has been, and always will be.”

They look at me cock-eyed at
that point, somewhat unconvinced.

“Enjoying your espresso and tiramisù there, are you?” I ask.

Many English words have
entered the Italian language but the same can be said the other way around.

Jenna Lo Bianco is a practising teacher with experience teaching Italian in Australia and overseas. She is a published author, language education consultant, Fellow of the International Specialised Skills Institute, and public speaker. Some of her publications include Teaching Italian the Italian way and the iCan Speak Italian digital language course by Macmillan Education Australia. When she’s not teaching or training other Italian teachers, Jenna is working on her PhD, through which she is exploring means for the protection and development of Italian language education in Australia. A self-confessed Italian-culture addict, Jenna lives and breathes everything Italian.